Originally Posted by: jcashfanausHello,
I was wondering if anyone knows how to get that distinctive Johnny Cash sound.
I'd like to know whether he just played the chords and someone else put in that plucking sound, or whether he did both at the same time somehow.
Last, is there a video here or something else that shows how to mimic Johnny Cash's style?
With many thanks.
Hey jcashfanaus,
Johnny played rhythm, but he usually had a second rhythm player too. Originally Luther Perkins put that boom chick behind Johnny's rhythm, but he died in a house fire in 1968 from smoke inhalation. A short time later a young man named Bob Wootten, went to a show with a girlfriend that told June her boyfriend played like Luther. He played his first show with Johnny that night, and Johnny invited him to join the band a week or so later.
He played with Johnny for 30 years, and is still performing today. We exchanged messages today, he answered a question I've been researching about his picking technique. He used a flat pick, and his middle finger for many of his licks. When I first heard it, I was thinking finger picking. After playing around with this, it didn't really follow the pattern.
It put me in mind of James Burton's style, and Burton uses a thumb pick, and a steel pick on his middle finger. This pattern fit closer to what was being used on the song in question. After trying to finger pick it for a couple of weeks, finally contacted Bob and told him what I thought he was doing on the recording. When I heard from him a short while later, he said that was exactly how he played it. He learned to play everything Johnny had recorded with Luther, and also Carl Perkins sometime. That's how he got the job, he just played everything the way it was recorded.
He had the boom chick from Luther, and he put his own twist to it. He calls it a boom chicka boom, and I always thought Luther just got better at it. Didn't know Luther passed away, and now it was Bob Wootten. He uses a flat pick, and also his middle finger, so I'll see what I have for you to get started with. There is something in the works that you will love though, but I don't want to say too much about it now.
Until then just find lessons on boom chick strumming, and I'll get you links to some more helpful lessons soon. You can also search the site for Luther Perkins, and find something that way too.
